Elevator car signal device



Filed Nov. 21, 92

D. W. HUGHES ET AL ELEVATOR CAR SIGNAL DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 M A I 2L3 29 E .v// 28 L4 32" ATTORNEYS ELEVATOR CAR SIGNAL DEVICE Filed Nov.21. 1927' zsheets-sheet 2 0 341 C) K 47 I F5 3 C) 36/ 36 ill/r 2 Qczcqgw I 0 36" 38 l NV TO 57 g%z?% &

' ATTORNEYS Patented Aug. 23, 1932 Dawn w. humans, or mmxmm aim cnmns E.ELLIS, m, on NEW Yemen. 1., p assmnons, BY unsrm ASSIGNMENTS, rownsrmonousn' macrrmc ELEVATQBOOI- v, PANY, orcmcaeo, ILLINOIS, a;conroaArIonorILL-mom 1 ELEVATOR can SlfGNAL DEVICE.

mam filed n vember 21; 1927. sca to. 234,552.

I This invention relatesto elevator signal devicesand hasparticularreference to operatorssignal' devices placed in the interiorof an elevator car; In theoperation of ele:

vators of the'usual type, it'is the customary practice for the severalpassengers to call the oornumbers to which they wish to be carried andthe operator bears these floor numbers inmindand subse uently stops thecar 1 at therespective floors w ich have been called in ordertodischarge the; passengers. In addition to this procedure, theoperatorisobliged to comply with visual 'or' audible sig nals-in the car whichindicate that persons are waiting to be taken aboard theear at certainother floors.v This confusing procedure frequently causes the operatorto inadvertently ass 'some of the floors which have been cal ed by theseveral passengers, especially during rush hours when the car isfilledand many floors have been called so that he must reverse the'car andreturn to these called floors in order to discharge the'pass'e'ngers.This is attended by considerable confusion and loss of time, andfrequently causes failurein theproperope'ration of many of the elevatordispatching and signallingisystems which depend for their properoperation upon the theory that all elevator carsin' the bank willproceed continuously in the same direction during each upward anddownward trip,a's well as those'systems which operate upon the premisethat all cars maintain a relative distance between each other withincertain limits so that a slow car, in falling behind schedule, disturbsthewhole signalling system unless that caris lockedout of the system themoment it falls, behind-schedule by more than a certainpredetermineddistance ortime. 3 j, g y It is the principal object of this inventionto provide anielevator car signal device which is controlled jointly bythe operator and in synchronism with the movement ofthecar, and which isdrivenin acc ordance with the movementiof the car forproducing signalsfor the operator in order to remind him of the particular floors whichhave been called by the several passengers in the car." This signaloperates independentlyof all other signalling apparatus pertaining tothe car and is auxiliary thereto so that it may be readily installed inall types of elevator systems and cars.. I The newisignal' deviceisplaced in each elevator car withinconv'enient reach and in view of theoperator. A sequential series of push buttons are -provided, one foreach of the several floors, each of these buttons being adapted to make,and maintain electrical contact with a corresponding energizedsegment ofa commutator upon pressureapplied by'th'e'oper'ator to a particular-pushbutton corresponding to a particular floor when a I passenger calls thatfloor. A series' of brushes are driven along this commutator insynchronism-w'ith themovement of the car, one of thesebrushesbeingjspaced ahead of the relative positionofthe carwith respectto the commutator, so asto give a signal when the 'carapproaches withina predetermined distance, say two floors, of the floor at which the "caris to stop for discharging the pass'em ger who called that floor, Asecond brush follows the'first brush andgives a second signal when thecar reaches a position nearer the signalled floor than the positionat-which. the first sign'al was given, say one floor. Ac-

cor'ding'ly, the first signal is intended to advise the operator atwhich floor he is to stop and to slow down, whereas the second: signaladvises th operator that he is nearing the proper floor. Inasmuch asonlythose commutator segmentswhich have been placed in circuit by theoperator whenhe pressed the push buttons corresponding to the calledfloors are energized, the signals willonly be given 'for thosefloorswhichhave been called.

If the second signal is maintained while the car'is standing at a floor,theoperator is advised that the next. succeeding floor had also'beencalled'. The new signal has especial ad:

vantage in elevator systems in which-automatic 'floorlandingor levellingdevicesare used for bringing'the cars tothe exact floor level within theoperating zone of the automatic floor landing or levellingjdevlce, inthat the operator initiates movement to stop upon observing the firstsignal and allows the car to coast into the floor landing orlevellingdevice -zone, whereupon the floor landing or levelling deviceappropriates the control of the car to bring it to the level of thecalled floor, thus making ordinary elevator systems semi-automatic inoperation. A disconnect device accompanies the brushes and operates inaccordance with their movements to break the contact of the severalbuttons with their corresponding commutator segments after the car haspassed the particular floors corresponding to those buttons, thusextinguishing the signal after the car has passed the called floor. Itis also preferred that a light or other floor number signal be energizedfor each floor which the car passes so that the operator and thepassengers will always know the relative position of the car merely byob.- serving the car position signal. This pro; vision is of especialadvantage in instances where completely closed elevator cars areemployed where the floors cannot be observed from within as the carpasses them.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference is made to theaccompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of theelevator car signal device of this "invention shown in connection withan elevator car;

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the elevator car signal device; V

Figure 3 is an outside view of the device as it appears within theelevator car; and

Figure 4 illustrates the means employed for adjusting the floor signalbrushes.

In these drawings numeral 10 designates an elevator car carried by cable11 which passes over driving sheave 12, then over idler sheave 13, backover another sheave adjacent to driving sheave 12 and connected at itsfree end to counter weight 14. The car 10 is operated by the usualmanual controller 16, whereas the signal indicator of this invention maybe conveniently placed at A within ready reach and view of the operator.

Idler sheave 13 drivesaselfsynchronous,stepby-step, or like type ofelectrical transmitter 16 by means of shaft 17 connected thereto. Tliemechanism of device is shown in an enlarged diagram to the right of thecar 10 in Fig. 1. This transmitter 16 is electrically connected byconductors in a slack cable 13 tn a receiver motor 19 carried by theelevator car 10, so that the rotation of receiver 19 is synchronous withthe rotation of idler sheave 13, and consequently is also synchronouswith or proportional to themovements ofthe elevator car 10 in eitherdirection. Theshaft 20 of receiver motorv is connected to unalignedshaft 21 through a slip coupling 23, so that a relative movement betweenshafts 20 and 21 is possible under certain conditions without damage tothe driving or driven parts. Shaft 21 is provided with a leadscrew 22and upper and lower stops 24 and 24, respectively. nut 25 is mountedupon lead screw 22 so as to move axially along the screw upon rotationof the latter by receiver motor 19. Mounted upon and movable with nut 25is a brush carriage 26 and a second brush carria e 27.

Brush carriage 27 is provide with brushes 28 and 29 which are maintainedin sliding contact with conductor bars 30 and 31, respectively, whichare connected to the respective positive and negative leads of anysuitable source of current, such as the usual lighting circuit of theelevator car. Brushes 28 and 29 are connected to and energize electriclight globe 32 also mounted upon carriage 27, which is adapted to moveas the car 10 moves so as to be positioned successively behind a EIiesof lenses 33, which successively repre: sent the several floors of thebuilding in which the elevator isoperated. These lenses 33 may beprovided with the numerals of the several floors which they correspondso that the relative position of the car may be ob,- served at all timesby the passengers as well as by the operator, merely by glancing at theparticular lens which is illuminated by light 32. These lenses 33 aresuitably mounted in openings formed in the cover 34 of the housing 35which contains all or the majority of the mechanism comprising thedevice of this invention.

Brush carriage 26 is provided with a vertical cross arm 36 havingvertical slots 36 and 36 at opposite sides of the carriage, as shown inF igs 1 and 4. Adjustably mounted in slot 36 are a pair of brushes 37and 37/ while brushes 38 and 38 are similarly mounted in slot 36-. Thesebrushesv normally engage commutator 39 which consists of a plurality ofcommutator segments 40 insulated from each other, and mounted upon i astrip of insulating material 41 suitably secured in housing 35 as shownin Fig. 2. Each of commutator segments 40 is provided with a contact 42which is normally spaced from a co-operating contact 43 mounted on aleaf spring 44 and controlled by a push button 45,. This push button isprovided with a slot or notch which is engaged by a laterally movablekeeper 46 when push button 45 is pressed to make connection betweencontacts 42 and 43. Keeper 46 is slidably mounted in a pair of frames 47and 48 attached to the cover 34 of housing 35, and is normallyconstrained toward the left, as seen in Fig.2, by spring 49. and isprojected toward the left by this spring when it is released by pressureupon push button 45, since the keeper may then engage the slot or notchin button 45 and hold it in advanced position so as to maintain theconnection between contacts 42 and 43. Contacts 43 are connected inparallel to a bus bar 50 connected to the negative side of theelectrical supply line, as shown in Fig. 1, and when engaging contacts42 are effective to prepare the corresponding signal circuits. v i

Brush carrier 26 is provided with brushes 51 and 52 which contact withconductor bars 53 and 54, respectively. Conductor bar 53 is connectedthrough a colored lamp 55, whichmay be red for example, to,the positiveside of the electrical supply line. Conduc'tor bar 54 is similarlyconnected through electric lamp 56, whichmay be green for example, tothe positive side of theelectrical supply line, thisiline beingcontrolled by a switch 57 provided in housing 35, whereby, theelectrical connections of the device may be disconnected by theoperator. Brushes 37 and 38 are connected to brush 51 while brushes 3'7"and 38' are connected to brush 52. Accordingly, when the circuit is madefrom the positive side of the electrical supply line through conductorbar 53, brush 51, brush 37, commutator segment 40, contacts 42 and 43,which are closed by pressure hitVr ing been applied to button by theoperator, andbus bar to the negative side of the electrical supply line,red lamp will be illuminated. Similarly, whenibutton 45 is pressedby'the operator, the circuit will be completed from the positive side ofthe electrical supply line through conductor bar 54, brush 52, brush37', commutator segment 40, contacts 42' and 43', and bus bar:

50 to the negative side of the electrical sup ply line, whereby greenlamp 56 is illuminated. Brushes 37 and 37' lead when the elevator cartravels upwardly, whereas brushes 38 and 38' lead when the car travelsdownwardly, and are energized with such segments of commutator 39 ashave been ene'rgized by their corresponding buttons 45 which have beenpressed by the operator.

Nut 25 carries athird arm 58, as shown in Fig. 2, this arm beingprovided with a roller, cam or the like, 59, which moves with nut 25 ina vertical path adjacent the ends of keepers 46. When the buttonscorresponding to the keepershave not been actuated by the operator, thekeepers remain in their normal retracted position and roller 59 passesthem freely as it advances in proportion to the motion of the car.However, when certain of the buttons, such as those designated 45 and45' in Fig. 1, have been actuated, they are locked in advanced positionby their keepers 46 and 46' while these keepers are simul taneouslymoved toward the lift'bytheir springs 49 so that they project into thepath of-roller 59. Accordingly, as roller 59 passes these propectingkeepers, it forces them toward the right against' the pressure ofsprings 49 and out of the notches 'of buttons 45 and 45, whereby thelatter are released and return to their normal position, while at thesame time contacts '42 and-43 and 42 and 43 are separated to break thecircuit through the green and red lights. As

illustrated i'nFig. 1, contacts 42' and 43" will be released and greenlight56 extinguished first, since the car is travelling upwardly andkeeper46"is engaged by' roller 59 first. The adjustment of "electricallypaired brushes37 ,1 38, and 37' and 38', upon cross arm 36 of brushcarriage 26 so'as to be spaced ahead of the relative position of the carwhich is represented' by-light 32,'depends u'ponthenorrnal operatingspeed of the" par: ticular elevator car to'which the signal device is tobe applied,"since the operator must be advised of the called floor asuificient distance or time "before the car reaches that floor so as toreadily bring the car to rest at" that floor, or, if floor lock devicesare used,'to bring the car nearly to full stop within the zone ofoperation of the floor *lock device, whereupon the floor locktemporarily app'ro priates the control of the car to bring it to thefloor level. The distance fromthe. called floor atwhich the car operatormustv shut oil the controller in order to stop the car at'th'a'tfloorvaries for difierentmakes of elevator systems. Forjexamp'le, forone typeof ele vator system, in which the carsnonnally travel at thespeed of six hundred'feet" per minute, it is necessary'to'shut" ofi the"power whenthe cars reacha'point from 20 to12 feet ahead of the calledfloors in order to bring them to full stop at those floors. ,For'another type of system operating at thesame approximate car speed, onefloor and ten feet is required whereas in two other Y elevator systemswhich operate cars at approximate normal speeds of seven hundred feetper minute, stopping sp'a'ces of from '25 to 15. feet ahead or onefloorandf15 feetahead are ne'c es'sary, and thelike; 1accordingly,the spacingof commutator brushes 37,37 and'38, 38'.

must be adjustedforieach make of elevator system to account fortheirtrespective car speeds and momentum. I

Let it be-assumed. for purposes of illustration thatit is necessary toshutoff the power two floors ahead of the calledfioorv in order tobring'the carto rest at that floor. iiB rushes 37'and 38'arethenadjusted in slots 36 and 36", respectively, so that the verticaldistance' between each brush and light 32, which represents the relativeposition of the car, is two of commutator segments 40, each of whichrepresents the floor of the buildin g'. Brushes 37 'and 38 are adjustedin their re spective slots 36 and 36 so that thespaces between themandlight 32 equivalent to its one commutator segment: space, representingone floor of the building, 7 I

' In the operation ofthe signal device of this invention, let it beassumed .that two passengers-in elevator. car 10 call floors seven andeight when the car starts upwardly. The operator'thenpresses buttons 45"and 45 core responding-to floors seven and eight,'r'espec-' tively, asmarked on the cover 34 of the signal device mounted at 16 in the car. Asbuttons 45 and 45 are pressed they cause contacts 42 and 43 and 42, 43to engage energizing commutator segments 40 and 40, while keepers 46 and46, respectively, are projected to the left by their springs 49 so thatthey engage the notches of buttons 45 and 45 to hold them in theiradvanced position, while at the same time the left-hand ends of keepers46' and 46 are projected into the normal path of roller or cam 59 ofbrush carriage 26. As the car moves upwardly, transmitter 16 is rotatedby idler sheave 13, so as to simultaneously rotate receiver 19 insynchronism with the movements of car 10. This rotation is transmittedto shafts 20 and 21 and screw 22, causing nut 32 and brush carriages 26and 27 to travel upwardly at a rate proportional to the upward rate oftravel of car 10. Light 32, in moving with carriage 27, flashessuccessively through lenses 33 corresponding to the successive floors,so that the operator and the passengers can observe the position of thecar, merely glancing at the particular lens 33 which is illuminated.

As the car reaches the fifth floor, leading brush 37 engages energizedcommutator segment 40, thereby completing the circuit through brush 51,conductor bar 53 and red light 55 placed at the top of the signal box,thereby informing the operator that he is two floors away from calledfloor seven, and that he must shut off the power in order to bring thecar to rest at floor seven. As the car proceeds, second brush 37' alsopasses upon energized commutator segment 40 as brush 37 passestherefrom, whereby the circuit is made through brush 52, conductor bar54 and green light 56, thereby advising the operator that he is onefloor away from the called floor seven. These signal lights and brushesmay also be arranged so that the first light warns the operator that heis approaching the called floor, while the second light will inform himwhen to shut off the power. Inasmuch as button for floor eight has alsobeen pressed, red light 55 again flashes immediately as brush 37 passesupon segment 40 and at the same approximate time that green light 56flashes, thus informing the operator that he must stop the car at thenext succeeding or eighth floor also.

As the car is brought to rest at the seventh floor to discharge thepassenger who called that floor, roller 59 of the brush carriage engagesthe projecting end of keeper 46', moving it toward the right to releasebutton 45, whereupon the circuit through red light 55 is broken andbutton 45 is reset. While standing at the seventh floor, the operatorobserves that green light 56 has remained lighted since its brush 37 haspassed upon energized segment 40. He is then reminded that he must stopat the eighth floor and that he may not put on full speed since he hasonly one floor to go and only one floor length in which to bring the carto a stop, whereas two floors are necessary in which to stop the carwhen it is travelling at normal full speed. Again, as the operator stopsthe car at the eighth floor to discharge the passenger who called thatfloor, roller 59 engages the projecting end of keeper 46 to unlockbutton 45 and extinguish green light 56, red light 55 having beenpreviously extinguished as leading brush 37 moved from the lastenergized commutator segment 40.

In proceeding downwardly on the return trip the same procedure takesplace, except that leading brush 38 for red light 55 and second brush 38for green light 56. appropriate the commutator segments which may havebeen energized by the operator when he presses buttons corresponding tocalled floors. Over-running stops 24 and 24' are provided at the upperand lower end of screw 22, which are adapted to be engaged by nut 25 ifthe car should happen to overrun its normal travel in either direction.If nut 25 engages e ther one of these stops, slipping takes place inslip coupling 23, so that no breakage can result in the signal devicemechanism. Inasmuch. as the brushes 37, 37 and 38, 38 lead the brushcarriage 26 representing the position of the car, a number of deadcommutator segments are provided at each end of commutator 39 so as toprovide a support and smooth continuous path for the brushes.

The new signal device provides a very effective reminder of the calledfloors for the elevator car operator so that elevator systems of alltypes provided with this device may be operated more efiiciently andexpeditiously and with improved passenger service. By providing thesesignal devices on elevator systems using floor landing and levellingdevices for bringing the several cars to the level of the called floors,the operation of these systems may be improved and made semi-automatic,without incurring the expense and employing the complicated mechanismsused in the automatic or semi-automatic elevator control mechanisms incurrent use. Inasmuch as the device operates wholly independently of theother signal apparatus of the elevator system, complications do notattend its use and it does not interfere with the other signalapparatus. l/Vhile certain particular mechanisms and connections havebeen illustrated and described, it is to be understood that it lieswithin the scope of the invention to change and modify such mechanismand connections as requirements may demand.

We claim:

1. In a signalling system for an elevator car operable past a pluralityof floors, an elevator car, a signal carried by said car for indicatingthat a stopis to be made, a circuit for energizing said signal,'apush-buteach floor, said push buttons being lineally arranged on thepanel in a consecutive row corresponding to the consecutive floors, acarposition indicator on the car, means for mounting said car-positionindicator for lineal movement in juxtaposed relation to said push-buttonpanel whereby its osition relative to the respective buttons wi 1 beindicative of the position of the car relative to the correspondingfloors, and means for actuating said ear position indicator inaccordance with the movements of the car.

2. In a signalling system for an elevator car operable past a pluralityof floors, an elevator car, a signal carried bysaid car for indicatingthat a stop is to be made, a circuit for energizing said signal, apush-button panel mounted on said car, a plurality of pushbuttons one ofwhich corresponds to each floor, said push buttonsbeing lineallyv 'iarranged on the panel in a consecutive row corresponding to theconsecutive floors, each of said buttons being so connected into thesignal circuit that it is adapted to partially complete the circuit whenmoved to its circuit-closing position, a floor selector means carried bythe car comprising a member movable lineally over a predetermined pathadj acent said push buttons, means for moving said selector meansto aposition along said path representing the position of the car withrespect to sai d floors and elements disposed adjacent saidpredetermined path for completing the signal circuit when said movablemember attains a position where the signal circuit has been partiallycompleted bya corresponding push button, a car-position indicatoractuated by said floor selector and mounted adjacent said push-buttonpanel whereby its position relative to the push buttons may be readilycompared and will be indicative of the position of the car relative tothe floors.

3. In a signalling system for an elevator car operable past a pluralityof floors, an elevator car, a signal carried by said car for indicatingthat a stop is to be made, a circuit for energizing said signal, apush-button panel mounted on said car, a plurality of push buttonsmounted on the panel, one for each of said floors, each of said buttonsbeing so connected into the signal circuit that it is adapted topartially complete the circuit when moved to its circuit-closingposition, a floor-selector means carried by'the car including a membermovable over a predetermined path representing the position of the carwith respect to said floors and elements disposed adjacent saidpredetermined path for completing the signal circuit when said movablemember attains a position where the signal has been partially completedby a corresponding push utton, a car-position indicator actuated by saidfloor selector and mounted adjacent said push-button panel whereby itsposition relative to the push buttons may be readily compared and willbe indicative of the position of the car relative to the floors, andmeans actuated by said floor selector for restoring each depressed pushbutton individually as the car arrives at the corresponding floor.

4. In a signalling system for an elevator car operable past a pluralityof floors, an elevator car, a signal carried by said car for indicatingthat a stop is to be made, a circuit for energizing said signal, apush-button panel mounted on said car, a plurality of push buttonsmounted on the panel, one for each of said floors, each of said buttonsbeing so connected into the signal circuit that it is adapted topartially complete the circuit when moved to its circuit-closingposition, a floor selector means carried by the car including a membermovable over a predetermined path representing the position of the carwith respect to said floors and elements disposed floor selector forrestoring each depressed push button individually as the car arrives atthe corresponding floor.

5. In a signalling system for an elevator car operable past a pluralityof floors, an elevator car, a signal carried by said car for indicatingthat a stop is to be made, actuable means carried by the car andindividual to said floors for preparing circuits for the signal, andfloor-selector means onsaid car, operable in correspondence with theposition of said car for completing the circuits which have beenprepared for said signal upon the approach of the car to an floor forwhich one of said actuable means as been actuated, said floor selectormeans including a member positioned for engaging and restoring eachactuable means as the car approaches the

